The Hoxton Hotel, London

Over the past couple of years, I think I’ve come to know the Hoxton Hotel quite well: I’ve gone to a number of events and dinners in its meeting rooms. I’ve spent many late nights having drinks in the lobby bar. I’ve had brunch/lunch/dinner in the Grill. I’ve sent dozens of Belgian friends looking for a fun, trendy and affordable hotel in the Hoxton’s direction – my point being, although I knew the Hoxton pretty well, I never had the pleasure of actually staying at the hotel, so I jumped at the opportunity to stay and review the place.

The first surprise was the view from my room. Although the facade of the hotel doesn’t give much away, it is in fact much larger than I expected. A large part of the 208 rooms are actually based in the back, which allows for a completely surprising and stunning view of the City. The rooms are small but perfectly formed – comfy bed, daybed, deskspace and bathroom, what else do you really need?

Its location in the heart of Shoreditch seems to attract 2 types of visitors: a younger, trendy crowd visiting London and looking for an affordable place to stay, as well as business travellers due its proximity to The City. Either way, it is perfectly suitable for both – the Hoxton’s ethos is pretty no-nonsense: free wifi, a complimentary small but lovely breakfast consisting of juice, yoghurt and banana delivered to your room (fresh milk, water, coffee and tea are already in your room), and if you insist on wanting to work out whilst there (god knows why…), you can attend a local gym nearby for a small fee. You want mini bar? Well there’s a supermarket-priced shop in the lobby where you can stock up – no silly prices to shock you at check out.

The bar is lively at any time of day, and on the weekends especially it turns into a real place to be, rather than just being a hotel lobby, whether you’re staying there or just in the neighbourhood – always a great quality for a hotel.

The Hoxton Hotel is also known for its infamous £1 sale every couple of months – definitely worth a try. And if you can’t get a hold of one of those rooms, no panic: standard prices start at £49 with a top price of £269. The Hoxton uses the EasyJet approach: the sooner you book, the cheaper.

As budget design hotels go, this one ticks all the boxes and doesn’t compromise: the location is perfect, the price unbeatable, the design is great, nice food and drink, all bundled together with a healthy dose of fun and humour. I may have recommended it before, now I’m afraid I must simply insist.